STEM resources and contacts

Teachers of secondary school pupils may find many of the following Manchester resources helpful in the teaching of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) subjects in the classroom, as well as our list of other sources of information on STEM activities across the North West.

Resources

Videos of our Star Lectures

We have filmed a selection of our Star Lectures – public talks delivered by some of our world-leading academics on their areas of expertise – and made them available for use in schools. You could access videos of Professor Brian Cox talking about the Big Bang, Professor Andrew Loudon talking about where animals came from, or Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell FRS talking about the brain.

Earth and solar system blog

Want to know how planets formed? What the oldest stuff on Earth is? The geological and chemical information contained in meteorites? The latest science coming back from NASA space missions? Head to where

Learn Chemistry Partnership

Connect your school to the world's leading chemistry community through the Royal Society of Chemistry's (RSC) Learn Chemistry Partnership (LCP). LCP is a free programme to ensure your school makes the most of the RSC’s activities and resources.

One main contact registers their school and becomes an advocate, sharing the information and resources they receive with their colleagues.

As an advocate you’ll receive a free RSC membership. Members of RSC receive 50% discount off our online CPD courses and teachers at LCP schools will receive 25% off. The advocate will also receive their own personal copy of Education in Chemistry and The Mole magazine, and will be able to request freebies for your school (such as posters, pens and pencils).

ChemNet ambassadors

ChemNet is for students aged between 14-18 providing chemistry help and support. Students can get free chemistry help from our experts, find out where chemistry could take their career and keep up to date with the world of chemistry.

Membership benefits include:

an invitation to free events based all over UK and Ireland, including hands-on workshops, university visits, industry visits and much more;

exclusive members only events, study help and careers advice;

an electronic copy of The Mole, the magazine just for 14-18 year students;

a monthly competition;

an ‘ask the expert’ service – Dr ChemNet and Dr Careers can answer chemistry and career questions respectively.

Graphene information, apps and games

Graphene is a fascinating material with many potential applications that stem from its unusual properties.

Connecting science and mathematics

Resources produced by the COMPASS project help you to develop lessons that connect science and mathematics with each other, and with the lives of your students.

Teams of teachers and university staff working together in six European countries created the resources, which all take a theme related to sustainability.

The UK was represented primarily by a team from our University, who worked with ten secondary schools in the North West to create materials on the topics of ‘dangerous rain’ and ‘dangerous cold’. We made the connection between science and mathematics by focusing on the concept of 'flow’: flow of water, and flow of energy.

One of the most innovative aspects of our materials is the use of applets: small, web-based simulation programmes that provide the opportunity for modelling the relationship of key variables in the context. They are free to use and adapt, as long as you acknowledge and reference the source material.

These resources have been used as the basis for projects in science and maths clubs. We very much welcome feedback, including stories about their use in projects in schools.

Interactive web-based resources on the immune system

Immunology is the science of the immune system, the body’s defence against infection. From birth to death, we are bombarded with potential infectious threats that require a complex network of monitoring and defence.

Research at The University of Manchester encompasses both basic and clinical study and addresses key questions in the immunology field. For example, how does our immune system regulate inflammation while still fighting infection? How do cytokines work? What kick-starts an immune response and how does that lead to such a range of outcomes (for example, anti-tumour immunity, autoimmunity or inflammation)?

Free 3D design software from Siemens

Your school can now utilise Solid Edge, an industry-leading mechanical design system from Siemens with exceptional tools for designing, creating and managing 3D digital products.

Solid Edge is the only mainstream mechanical system that merges design management capabilities with the CAD tools that designers use every day. A unique element of Solid Edge is 'synchronous technology', a feature that is revolutionising the CAD industry for engineers and designers. Synchronous technology enables users to focus on creating their designs, rather than having to work within the rigid constraints of the traditional history-based CAD tools. For you and your students, this means it's easier to learn and use.

Solid Edge High School Edition is available for free to all secondary schools. The academic site licence allows your school to install Solid Edge on as many computers as required for academic use. To obtain the Solid Edge High School Edition, a teacher or school official simply needs to register at the Siemens website.

To help you and your students get started with Solid Edge, there are a number of tutorials within the software. Access to comprehensive online self-paced tutorials – including classroom presentations, the required data sets and video tutorials – is also available for free from the Solid Edge Educator Resources page.